The Underground
by Onathea
Summary: After another attempt at running away from home and a seemingly kind offer from a cafe owner, Kouga finds himself thrust into a strange place known as The Underground, a world of supernatural creatures. He's not sure what's worse, living in this crazy new world or a home life where he's constantly compared to his older brother. AU


"I thought I told you and everyone else to get out 10 minutes ago." Kouga looked up from his phone at the man standing over him. He looked rather annoyed at the red head who was the last one sitting inside of the small café. He'd wandered into the café looking for a place to get out of the rain, he'd gotten into another fight with his parents, always comparing him to his older brother. It had only been worse in the past months after his brother's marriage to Saori Kido.

"Sorry I guess I didn't hear you." Kouga set his phone down and looked up at the pink haired man standing over him frowning. "I… guess I'll just have to find somewhere else to hide out." He sighed shaking his head as he got up. A hand came to rest on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Do you not have anywhere to go?" The expression on the man's face softened slightly as he took a seat next to Kouga. "Because that's problematic for me, as I can't send someone cute like you out in the bad weather."

"I..." Kouga looked away, who was he kidding? Unless he went home he would probably be sleeping up in a tree at a park somewhere like he normally did. Or maybe he'd find some other odd place to sleep that was sheltered from the rain if he was lucky. One thing was for sure he wasn't going to go back home any time soon. "No… I ran away." He finally admitted.

"Now why would you want to go and do that?" The pink haired stranger seemed to be rather intrigued now, leaning on his hand. The single emerald eye that Kouga could see was watching him with a piercing gaze. "Surely your family must be worried about you?"

"The only time they pay attention to me is when they want to complain about how I'm not matching up to my older brother." Kouga replied looking down into the teacup he'd started to fiddle with, it was empty by now. He'd been around the café for almost 3 hours by this point. "Not to mention this is probably the 14th time I've run away. They always figure I'll eventually be cold and hungry enough to turn back up."

"That's pretty pathetic that they won't even acknowledge you otherwise. Say, why don't you wait here, I'll make you a fresh of tea and we can keep talking." He held out his hand to Kouga expectantly, who placed the tea cup and saucer into the man's open palm. "I don't think I caught your name."

"I… didn't say it. My name is Kouga, Kouga Pegasus." Kouga mumbled in reply as he looked away from the café owner who reached out with his free hand and ruffled Kouga's hair as he walked past heading into the kitchen.

"Well Kouga, it's a pleasure to meet you. You can call me Alberich." Alberich shot him a smile before walking into the back. Shortly he returned carrying a tray with two cups of tea and a plate with cake on it.

"Thank you, Alberich." Kouga said looking up at the man with a slight smile. Alberich set down the tray and handed Kouga a cup before taking one himself. As if seeing Kouga's gaze on the cake he chuckled softly. "What is it?"

"You just seem so intent on this." Picking up a fork he cut into the cake before offering the bite to Kouga. The redhead seemed to pause for a moment before closing his eyes and leaning in to accept the offered food. A weird experience for Kouga, but he decided that it might be fun to mess around a little. Plus, Alberich seemed so nice. "Good?"

"Delicious." Kouga said smiling back at Alberich who smiled a little bit. "But I don't understand why you're being so kind to me."

"Sometimes people come from bad places in life, and someone showing them a little kindness can help them figure out what they want. You know I live right up stairs." He added cutting another piece of the cake off before offering it to Kouga who didn't hesitate at all this time. "You could stay here for a while."

Kouga paused thoughtfully as he chewed the cake, enjoying the sweet. There didn't seem any harm in the suggestion, so he couldn't see why not. "Sure, that sounds like a nice idea. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. You should drink that tea before it goes cold. It's a personal blend of mine, I don't normally give it to anyone other than some rather special company." Alberich let off a low chuckle, brushing a few strands of hair out of Kouga's face tenderly. "And you're someone who is very special."

Kouga blushed taking a sip of the tea, it had a nice flavor too, warming him to his core. It made him feel a little drowsy but pleasant warmth flooded through him. "You're so kind to say that… I've never been told I was special before." He said softly blinking at Alberich who offered him another bite of the cake.

"Oh but you are. After we finish, I'll take you upstairs and maybe I can make you feel even better." Alberich smiled as he fed Kouga the last of the cake. "After you finish your tea of course."

"Okay, do you need help cleaning up?" Kouga asked as he drained the porcelain cup before setting it back on its saucer.

"I can get it later, now why don't I show you up to the bedroom." Alberich smirked as he got up. Playing with mortals could be so fun.

A/N: This is going up to M rating next chapter just to warn the readers. Alberich and Kouga won't be the main pairing, they're just for the first few chapters.


End file.
